


Shattered

by SaraJaye



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Broken plants, Cats, Domestic Fluff, Drama, F/M, Married Shidge, Plants, Swearing, cats are assholes, pets named after dead alien friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-16 10:37:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21034886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: Pidge comes home to a mess, and a certain new member of her and Shiro's family is nowhere to be found.





	Shattered

"_No!_"

The moment she opens the door she can see it everywhere, all over the floor they'd just swept and mopped yesterday and spreading onto the just-vaccumed rug. Little paw prints as far as she can see. Leaves, dirt, shattered bits of ceramic, even drops of water.

(So much for their monthly deep-cleaning.)

Pidge knows who the culprit is, of course, Shiro's still on the Atlas and she just got home. And as pissed as she is about the mess, she's worried about said culprit, because bits of broken porcelain can do a lot of damage to little paws.

"My poor baby," she mutters, picking up the displaced and probably distressed plant. All the time she'd spent working with Mom in the garden and the arbotoreum while "grounded" before the last big battle with Honerva, she'd learned more about plants even than the Olkari had taught her. Actually, this plant _was_ part-Olkari, she'd cultivated a special mix of their soil with some of Mom's best potting mix.

The poor violets hadn't even had a chance to bloom, and Mom's birthday is in less than a few weeks. Presents like this needed time, and even if she _can_ save the flowers they'll need at least a few days to readjust. Plants are sensitive.

Pidge sighs, taking them into the kitchen and setting them on a plate while she cleans up the mess. Or at least the broken pot, so Ulaz doesn't step on a shard and hurt himself. _Cats._ She's getting used to the fact that cats aren't dogs, and while they're more independent they can jump higher and certain precautions need to be taken. Of course, she'd _thought_ the plant was perfectly safe where it was. Who knew Ulaz could jump as high as the top shelf on the bookcase?

She does the best she can about the dirt. Now it's time to scold Ulaz, and she makes a beeline for the bedroom. Shiro keeps the door open so the cat can rest on their bed whenever he wants, and that's usually the first place she finds him when she comes home.

Not today, though. _Okay, maybe he's under the bed this time._

Nope.

He's not in the den, either, or behind the armchair in the living room. He's not in any of his usual spots, and Pidge is getting worried. The house is always locked tight when they go out, and so are any cabinets or closets with dangerous stuff in them, and Ulaz can't teleport like a certain wolf.

But Pidge is getting flashbacks to the time she accidentally locked the cat in the bedroom, and she's getting worried. Shiro had bought a collar with a bell on it after that time, but she can't hear the bell.

"Ulaz!" she shouts. "Ulaz, get your furry little butt out here, this isn't funny!"

She's not surprised when she _does_ find the collar lying on the floor, though. Ulaz hates it, and he's good at taking it off. Of course, this only makes the situation _worse_ because _her cat is missing_ and what if there's a hole she and Shiro missed while kitty-proofing the house? She remembers Acxa talking about how Kova crawled into a vent once, a tiny hole no bigger than his head, and when Ezor found him he was covered in soot.

"Ulaz, if you're hiding somewhere dirty, you're getting a bath whether you want one or not!" Pidge threatens. She's forgotten all about the plant by now, all she can think about is what if the uncovered hole led outside? What if Ulaz is lost in the backyard, or wandered into someone else's? Or halfway down the street?

He's chipped, she reminds herself as she turns on her phone and calls the police. Then she texts her husband before she begins to pretty much tear the house apart looking for that insolent little furball.

"Ulaz, I swear, if you're outside and you come in with ticks, you're getting a bath and a trip to the vet! She's going to stick a thermometer up your butt, too! Was it worth it?!"

Shiro comes running into the apartment less than ten minutes later.

"I left Curtis in charge of things," he pants. "Katie, when did you see him last?"

"He was in the den when I left for work this morning," she says. "Scampering around playing with one of his toys. He didn't come to greet me when I got in, but-"

Wait.

The broken plant, the mess, the fact that Ulaz obviously did it. For a certified genius with two different degrees and all manner of educational experience, Pidge feels like the biggest moron on the planet.

"Takashi," she sighs, "what was it you told me about cats denying they did anything wrong?"

"They'll either pretend someone else did it or hide to escape blame. My aunt's cat did that all the time when Ryou and I were kids," Shiro says. "I'm guessing by all the dirt on the floor and the violets lying on a plate..."

"He knocked over the plant I was growing for Mom," Pidge groans. "I was worried about him stepping on the broken pot, so I cleaned that up first. Then I went into our room to scold him, because he's usually there in the afternoons. But..."

"He did something wrong and now you can't find him," Shiro finishes, hugging her to him. "It's not your fault, Katie, I know you're still not entirely used to cats, and believe me, they're sneakier than thieves. Ulaz is in the house, he's probably just found a place he knows you wouldn't think of looking."

"But _where?_" Pidge sulks, burying her face in his shoulder. Stupid cat making her worried and anxious. "He even got rid of his collar, Takashi."

"Remember what Kova did," Shiro says. "If a cat can fit their head into someplace, they can bring their whole body with it. And as much as we tried to kitty-proof the house, we definitely missed a few spots." And then Pidge remembers the linen closet with the broken lock, the one she and Shiro keep talking about fixing but always forget. She checked that closet earlier, but it was so stuffed with towels and sheets and blankets she assumed he couldn't possibly-

"Aha!" She wriggles out of Shiro's embrace and grabs his human hand. "This is a long shot, but I think I figured it out." And they rush towards the closet. The door's open a crack, just enough for a small body to slip through. Both of them feel the stacks of linens carefully, until Shiro grins.

"This one's awfully warm considering we took it out of the dryer four days ago." And sure enough, when he peels back the blanket, there's Ulaz. Curled up into a ball, back rising and falling as he breathes, kitty-snoring without a care in the world.

The blanket under him has tracks of dirt. Pidge isn't sure whether she wants to yell at their furry "child" or pick him up and give him a big hug.

"You little shit," she mutters, carefully picking him up while Shiro grabs the dirty blanket.

"I bet I can scrub this at the sink and it'll be just fine," he says before turning his attention to Ulaz. "What do you have to say for yourself, young man?"

Ulaz blinks his eyes open and yawns, giving them his most innocent face. Pidge doesn't buy it.

"You're grounded," she says. "Tomorrow your daddy's taking you to work with him in your carrier. Takashi, warn anyone with allergies to take their meds." Shiro chuckles, patting Ulaz's ears a little.

"Is that really necessary?"

"All I did was get lost in space accidentally for three years and Mom made me stay by her side for a month. Ulaz broke my plant and made me think he was seriously lost."

"He's a cat."

"Yeah, well..." Pidge sighs, hugging Ulaz close to her. She loves him, even if right now he's a bigger pain in the ass than Bae Bae ever was when she misbehaved. "Maybe I'll take him with me instead. The Garrison has a pet daycare center, after all."

"And tomorrow we'll go to the hardware store and get that lock for the linen closet," Shiro says. "We've put it off long enough."

The first thing Pidge does once Shiro takes Ulaz is call the cops, tell them everything's fine. Ulaz has his collar back on by evening, and they don't let him out of their sight all night. Pidge is able to rescue her violets, and Shiro's metal arm puts the new pot on top of the fridge. Ulaz has yet to even try to jump up there.

Maybe tomorrow she'll find this whole experience funny.

**Author's Note:**

> Cats are jerks and we forgive them because they're cute and they know they're cute and can get away with anything.
> 
> And yes, Shiro named kitty after the Ulaz who rescued him. Kitty is pale gray and has a serious face...most of the time.


End file.
